After a surprise US military operation in Venezuela, President Donald Trump said Saturday that the United States will run the country “until such time as we can do a safe, proper and judicious transition,” following strikes that led to the capture of Venezuelan President and narco-terrorist Nicolás Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores.
Trump said US forces used power from the air, land and sea to carry out what he described as a “spectacular assault” on the Venezuelan capital, resulting in the arrests. Speaking at a Saturday news conference at Mar-a-Lago, Trump said the Venezuelan military was “completely overwhelmed” during the operation.
The timing of the operation drew particular notice in Alaska, where a prominent Anchorage Democrat had just published an opinion piece sharply critical of Trump’s approach to drug trafficking.
In a column headlined “Trump’s coddling of drug traffickers threatens our safety and economy,” Anchorage state Rep. Zack Fields argued that the president was failing to confront international narcotics networks. The column appeared in the Anchorage Daily News shortly before news broke of the Venezuela strikes and the capture of Maduro, whom Trump labeled a narco-terrorist.
Fields, a former employee of the Alaska Democratic Party, did not address Venezuela specifically in the column, but his column revealed the irony of the moments in that Democrats are now pivoting to support the narco-terrorist regime in Venezuela.
According to the president, the United States intends to oversee Venezuela during an interim period and bring in major American oil companies to rebuild the nation’s damaged energy sector. Trump said those companies would invest billions of dollars to repair oil infrastructure and restart production, framing the plan as a way to generate revenue for Venezuela while stabilizing the country. He said the administration remains prepared to carry out additional military action if necessary, adding that while a second wave of strikes had initially been anticipated, the first operation was so successful that it may not be required, though the U.S. military stands ready if conditions change.
Trump described the planned partnership with Venezuela as one that would make Venezuelans “rich, independent and safe,” and said it would also benefit Venezuelans living in the United States, many of whom, he said, had suffered under Maduro’s rule.
US officials have not yet released details on how long the United States would maintain control in Venezuela, how a transition government would be formed, or what legal process awaits Maduro and Flores. The White House also has not disclosed where the two are being held following their capture.
12 thoughts on “As Anchorage Democrat warns of president ‘coddling’ drug traffickers, Trump captures Venezuela’s Maduro”
Today the future of Alaskan oil exploration and production was killed. With the US controlling Venezuela, the US now controls the largest oil reservoir on earth. 330 billion barrels. The cost per barrel to develop Venezuelan oil fields is a small fraction of Alaska’s cost per barrel. ANWR is dead forever. NPRA is done after Willow. Investors will see much greater ROIs in Venezuela. No one will invest in AK. Oh, except maybe AIDEA … because they are our village idiots.
Ho-hum
It’s hard to fathom just how out of touch the good Representative Fields truly is, he’s not only out of touch with reality but with his own political party. I guess he missed the party memo about supporting high inflation, weaponization of the criminal justice system, illegal aliens, terrorists, drug dealers, and murderers.
Yes, Fields is a whacked nut case. But moving on … this action of Trump’s has implications for the energy industry in Alaska. Alaska has an estimated 14 bilion barrels of oil reserves. Venuzuela has over 300 billion barrels. Over 20 times as much oil as Alaska. Add in cheaper labor. Bottom line … energy investment will shift out of the US to Venuzuela. Trump is not Alaska’s energy industry savior. He just screwed Alaska. Big time.
A couple of things that oil companies find important, first and foremost a politically secure environment, Venezuela does not offer that and they have not offered that. After the government siezure of oil company assets in the 1970’s and the 2000’s and obviously with the current course of events Venezuela does not offer a politically stable environment. Venezuela still owes Conoco and Exxon billions of dollars, add to that the billions required to get the oilfield back into working order and best case scenario would be maybe 7-8 years before any meaningful impact on oil markets. The second important thing is the oil itself, the oil in Venezuela is different than Alaskan oil…it is a completely different product requiring different methods to refine. Venezuelan oil is heavy, sour crude whereas Alaskan oil is light, sweet crude. The price of oil is also a key measure of how oil companies choose to invest, with current prices hovering below $60 per barrel oil companies will likely not see the upside in spending $50-$60 billion dollars to revitalize production in a country with a long history of politically unsettled government that has been prone to seizing oil assets to fund their spending levels.
Zack should go back to after hours beer pong and leg wrestling in government buildings (March 31, 2021). He obviously lives in the pipe dream narrative that most far left mouthpieces find solace in. It’s easier for he and his ilk to do that rather than rendering an educated, fact-based appraisal.
So Trump just pardoned the convicted former president of Honduras and spent hundreds of millions of dollars to arrest maduro and kill some pot smugglers. Brilliant.
More footsie abroad is not why I funded, supported and voted for Trump. America first and first only. I do not care about other countries. Protect our borders and trade only. Not only is there no justification for this, it goes against campaign promises that won a majority and would continue to do so in order to save our country. Many voted for Trump because of no war. He is losing them. Listen to Mark Mitchell or Rich Baris- the most accurate pollsters since 2016. We need to win the mid terms and beyond. This action does nothing but hurt our coalition.
If you don’t see how this secures our borders and protects trade, let me know and I will do my best to explain it for you. This wasn’t a war, just like the strikes on Iran’s nuclear facilities wasn’t a war. The launching of tomahawk misslies and strikes on Libya wasn’t a war, the military action in Pakistan (to get Osama), drone strikes in Pakistan, Yemen, Somalia, military action in Syria, Bosnia, Kosovo, Haiti none of these were war because Democrats said they weren’t when they were in charge…so how could similar of markedly less action be now that they aren’t in charge?
You and I are not the same. You represent what is passing (thankfully).
When the awful left regains power in 2026 beacaue our coalition is fractured, I hope your Venezuela door prize gives you comfort.
Rep Fields publicly made himself the poster boy for when one only reads leftist news sources and has a one sided worldview
Being a leader he should be a well rounded reader
Fields, of course, parrots the Washington Post and others, referring to Trumps pardon of Hernandez, while they simultaneously support venezuelan drug dealers and gangs in the U.S.